29. A Second Chance

A/N: To recap, Lori sees that Lincoln's love for his sisters has faded at best, Lana lost a pet, and Ronnie Anne has starting her training. All the while, Lincoln himself is still debating about his own thoughts with his siblings, wondering if he should do more to get in touch with them, or continue to keep his distance despite being fed new information about his fears as a whole.

But before we get into that, there's a second plot that hasn't been updated in quite some time. So, let's look into the world of Ace Savvy to see what the heroes have been up to recently.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

Howard hummed as he stirred some seasonings and meat in a mixing bowl, preparing lunch for his family and Lincoln. Once you got a taste for the man's crab cake sandwiches, you were hooked forever. However, the sole Loud boy was still absent.

Glancing at the clock, Howard raised a brow. "Huh, thought they'd be back by now. It didn't take that long to figure out when Clyde would need braces."

All of the McBrides were aware that Lincoln went to the dentist, though it seems it was taking longer than normal to just check the damage done to the boy's mouth. He left with his mother close to 11, and it was just after 2 PM. As if to answer the case of the missing Loud, a knock at the front door got everyone's attention.

Harold walked up and opened the door, seeing Rita carrying Lincoln in her arms. The 11 year old had his arms wrapped around his mother's neck and shoulder as if he was still a toddler, and faint snores could be heard from him every few seconds. "Hello Rita." He smiled. "You guys sure took longer than usual."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Rita walked inside, being careful to not let the sides of the door brush against Lincoln. "We had our appointment, but then it was discovered that something else needed to be done about his teeth." The matriarch shifted Lincoln a little to get a better grip on her son. "Sorry, but is there some place I can put him down? I can't carry Lincoln like I used to." She chuckled a little.

"Sure, sure." Harold guided her to the couch and arranged the pillows a bit.

Once he was done, Rita lied Lincoln on the couch and removed the boy's shoes. Lincoln must've felt himself lying on something soft, seeing that he immediately adjusted his position a bit before lying still. Rita's heart fluttered a bit, giving a warm smile before kissing her son on his forehead. As a mother, it was still painful to not have her little boy back home with the family; but at least he appeared to be getting better.

The mother's smile dropped as she stared at her sleeping child. "I hope he doesn't have a nightmare again..." Rita stated solemnly.

"If it helps, he hasn't screamed himself awake in almost a week. He hasn't said much about having any nightmares either." Harold replied.

"I guess, that helps..." Rita answered back, gently brushing a hand through Lincoln's hair.

"So, he fell asleep in the car again?" Howard called from the kitchen.

Rita shook her head. "No, he was asleep before that." The blonde glanced over at the clock, making a mental note that her family should be back home by now. "While we were in David's office, he found out that two of Lincoln's molars had been shifted when he was...hit in the face a few times..." Rita hesitantly answered. Saying that her daughters flat out assaulted Lincoln wasn't an easy thing to do, even if it was the truth. "They were going to come in misaligned, so we had to remove them." The matriarch reached into her purse and took out a small plastic bag that contained a bottle of pills as well as some gauze sponges. She handed it to Harold. "These are his pain killers. Make sure he takes them every 6 hours. And make sure he replaces the gauze in his mouth every 3 hours."

"Can do." Harold nodded, placing the bag on a little table next to the couch.

"Excuse me for asking this Mrs. Loud, but if Lincoln was asleep while getting his teeth removed...he didn't have any fits or sudden movements while he was on the table did he?" Clyde pointed out, wincing a bit just imagining his friend tossing and turning on the operating chair and one of the doctors accidentally pulling something that didn't need to come out.

"Thankfully, no. In fact, he's been out of it since we left the office. I did wake him for a minute so he'd know we were done; but even then, Lincoln was barely awake."

"Phew.." Clyde wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Thank goodness for that." The boy paused to glance at Lincoln. "He's definitely getting braces, right?"

"Literally." Rita replied. The honking of a horn was heard outside, making the woman get up from her seat. "That must be Lynn. Sorry to keep my visit short, but we still have to go grocery shopping."

"No worries. We'll make sure Lincoln takes his medicine once he's up and about." Harold opened the door for her. "Take care Rita."

The Loud matriarch waved goodbye before Harold shut the door.

"Do you think Lincoln will be up in time for lunch?" Howard asked, still mixing the ingredients.

"I'm afraid not Howey. Remember when we took Clyde to get his teeth looked at, and he needed to be put under just to let the doctor work?"

"Oh, I remember. The poor thing was so afraid of sharp tools..."

"It's ok dad. I'm mostly over that now." Clyde stated, walking back down the hall. "I'll make sure Lincoln gets a sandwich when he's up."

The two fathers nodded before getting back into their own things.

As the McBrides were getting back into their Saturday routine, Lincoln's mind began to wonder as he continued with his anesthesia-induced nap. His brain had been drawing blanks for the last hour or so, only feeling his body being moved about in his tired state. Only when he was placed on something soft did Lincoln's brain begin to build another dream for him to play in (or die).

The Loud boy's eyes moved behind their lids before he slowly began to open them. Lincoln's vision was blurred upon first fully opening his pupils, only noting a yellowish light shining down upon him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight piercing through the leaves on a tree branch the boy sat under. Wiping the sleep from his face, Lincoln sat up and looked around with a brow raised. The white-haired child found himself sitting at the edge of a forest up on a hill that overlooked the outskirts of Royal Woods. It was quite a beautiful spot, particularly since one had a good view of the sunset during the latter half of the day.

Lincoln scratched his head, wondering what he was doing out there. Last thing he remembered was his mouth feeling numb from the tooth removal. To make things even more confusing, Lincoln realized he was using his left arm, the broken one, to scratch his head. Glancing down, Lincoln saw he was still dressed in his usual attire. However, upon looking at his arm, Lincoln saw some notable scarring. The boy's eyes went wide as the past few days finally returned to the forefront of his brain. He told Lady Ace to come meet him at the spot he arranged for their rendezvous a few hours ago. He also went alone so the meeting would be a tad less awkward for his other two allies, given he had revealed he had himself a girlfriend. Lincoln arrived at the location just before dawn, but she had not.

"Guess I must've fell asleep." Lincoln yawned, standing up to stretch seconds later. "Thought Ronnie Anne would've been here by now." The 11 year old gave a small frown. "Hope she didn't get into trouble..."

Lincoln's blood ran cold the moment he heard the sound of a pistol's hammer being pulled back; and judging from how loud it was, the gun was just inches from the back of his head. "I'm not the one whose in trouble right now." A tomboyish feminine voice answered him.

Without sparing a second, Lincoln grabbed the wrist of his assailant before flinging her over his shoulder. He didn't have time to identify his attacker as a foot was swinging towards his face. The boy crossed both his arms to block the attack, his body shuddering a little from the impact. He then grabbed the foot of his opponent and reeled her in, having a fist ready to connect with her face. Unfortunately, Lincoln's opponent saw it coming and pushed his arm to the side just enough that it grazed her hair. When close, she reached out and pressed her hand on his windpipe. Lincoln gagged from the sudden interruption to his airway, forcing him to release the grip he had. He was then blinded when he was given a soft poke to the eyes, followed by a few hits to the noggin while Lincoln was trying to ease the pain to his sight. Stuck in a daze, the boy was literally pulled out of it as his opponent grabbed the collar of his shirt and reeled him in close. Lincoln shut his eyes as he anticipated being socked in his nose.

Instead, the Loud boy was caught off guard once again as he felt something soft being pressed onto his lips. The boy opened his eyes to find himself staring into a pair of calm, hazel colored eyes. The girl took her lips off his, a small pop emitting from the separation.

Ronnie Anne gave a wide grin. "Gotcha Lame-O." The tomboy was dressed in her purple hoodie as opposed to her crime fighting outfit. The hoodie was unzipped, revealing that her gun was in a holster strapped to her abdomen.

Lincoln's face became as red as a Christmas ornament. "I'm really g-glad Clyde and Lily aren't here r-right now..." He stammered mentally.

The look on his face made Ronalda cackle a bit. She released his shirt and put a hand on her hip. "For someone who claimed to have been nearly beaten to death, you don't look half as bad as I imagined."

Lincoln shook his head, his blush dying down little by little. "I-If it weren't for Clyde sneaking back into our old base, I'd still be confined to a bed right now..." He folded his arms, gaining a stern tone. "And I didn't exactly like being snuck up on like that, you know."

"Aw, come on Lincoln." The Latina feigned innocence. "You usually like it when I surprise you."

"Ronalda, I had been attacked by 9 girls just two days ago and nearly died..." The Loud raised his voice a bit to make his irritation clear. The Hispanic's smile faltered into a frown, to which Lincoln immediately dropped the glare. He gave a little sigh. "I'm sorry..." He stared at the ground. "I just don't feel like getting attacked by another girl right now..."

"It's fine. I should've known better than to try that on you considering what you told me earlier." Ronnie Anne put her hands in her pockets. "I was just hoping that might cheer you up some. You know I care about you, right?"

Lincoln managed a little smile of his own as he looked up at her. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have kissed me just now."

Ronalda's cheeks became a little heated. "Your idea of a rendezvous point was the very spot we had our first...you know..." She rolled her shoulders, casting a warm smile back at him.

"Knowing my sisters...they would've meddled, and I didn't want them to ruin anything." Lincoln gently grasped her wrist, which Ronnie Anne slid back a little until her hand was in his. The two kids stared at each other in locked bliss, their heads slowly moving towards one another. If they were about to share another kiss, the moment was interrupted when a younger presence made herself known.

Lily cleared her throat, making the older kids glance at her in surprise. Like them, she was dressed in her regular attire; it consisted of a purple button shirt and skirt, along with her hair coming to a stop just above her shoulders. Like Lincoln and Lola, she had a visible cowlick on the back of her head. The 7 year old was casually leaning against a tree, and had to keep herself from outright laughing because of the shocked faces her brother and his girlfriend were giving. "Did I interrupt anything?" She said with a smug smile.

"W-When did you get here?" Lincoln asked nervously.

"Seven minutes ago. It wasn't like I'd let you go out here alone after last time. Plus," Lily's smile became brighter. "I wanted to see who my future sister-in-law would be." The little blonde gave a hard glare at Ronnie Anne. "When I saw she pointed a gun at you, I was about to jump in because I thought they sent her." Her gaze softened into a loving smile. "But then I saw you guys kiss! It was so cuuuuute!" Lily had her hands on her cheeks as she squealed in delight. The older kids gave awkward glances at anywhere but Lily, their cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Lily put her hands up as if she was looking through a camera. "It's not hard to tell that Ronnie Anne is Lady Ace-sassin. I mean, you keep your hair the same."

Ronalda's eye twitched a little before she let out a growl. It wasn't that of anger, but more of a front to hide her evergrowing embarrassment, as if being red in the face was any indication.

Wanting to change the subject, and in spite of having the moment ruined, Lincoln turned back to the flustered tomboy. "Anyway...what were you doing that took you hours to get here?" He gave the gun totter a weary look. "You weren't trying to hunt down the rest of the Full House, were you?"

Ronnie Anne looked back at Lincoln, a nervous smile creeping up her face. "Maaaaybe?"

The boy gave a small frown. "Ronalda!"

The sharpshooter raised her hands in defense. "It was only for 30 minutes. And I didn't find them anyways, so calm down." She folded her arms. "I stopped at home to get a few things that would be useful, checked on my mom while she was asleep, visited my brother..." Ronnie Anne's voice grew quiet. "And I visited Papi at the cemetery..."

Lincoln and Lily knew what that meant. While the Louds lost their parents during an outing, Ronnie Anne lost her father while he was on the line of duty. It was the main reason the Hispanic girl took up fighting crime in the first place, along with her older brother being in the hospital due to a robbery attempt at the store he worked at. The Louds may have it rough with family ties right now, but Ronalda just had her mother to come home to.. When they weren't busy fighting crime, Lincoln could tell Ronnie Anne was still pretty torn about her family being cut in two despite her attempts to hide it.

Heck, the Louds themselves barely dodged the bullet of being put into foster care with Lori, Leni, and Luna constantly working to keep the bills in check. Lisa also landed a job at the university to help even things out, but it was never the same without Rita and Lynn Senior. Lincoln could only imagine how his parents must feel right now with the turmoil their children are dealing with currently...

"Aside from that, if you were planning to confront your sisters at some point, I figured I'd bring the big guns." Ronnie Anne walked past them and grabbed a backpack she left hanging by the tree Lincoln was sitting against. Unzipping the biggest pocket, she reached in and produced two particular handguns.

One was a silver Desert Eagle with Hispanic markings engraved on the side, while the other was a large revolver. More specifically, it was an S&W Model 500. Lincoln recognized that gun; it belonged to Ronnie Anne's father. Apparently, Mr. Santiago liked to collect vintage revolvers while he was in the RWPD. Unlike most revolvers which typically shoot .44 ammunition, this gun was made to handle .50 cal magnum rounds; they were much like the ammunition you'd typically see in machine guns.

Small beads of sweat formed at the back of Lincoln and Lily's heads. "Don't you think that's a little overkill?" The Loud boy asked.

"I don't think you have room to talk about 'overkill' when you were literally beaten into the floor in a vastly outnumbered fight, Lincoln." The Latina retorted, stowing the guns. "Plus, I know one or two of your sisters are very resistant to small arms. Those two guns would help stop them in their tracks." Ronnie Anne gave a short pause, looking back at the city. "I know I said I'd kill them..." She turned back to the pair. "But, I won't unless you say otherwise. I know what it's like losing family, and I don't want to make yours any smaller..."

"Thanks Ronnie Anne...though I still don't know how exactly we can even take them on." Lincoln began to pace around. "They still outnumber us nearly 3 to 1, and we'd have to be well coordinated because that's how they took me down." The boy furrowed his brows. "I know Lisa was the one who organized them, because she was the only person who didn't fight me directly. Otherwise, I was able to handle myself; so if we can keep her occupied, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Sounds nice, but we're still outnumbered if you think that's still a problem." Ronnie Anne pointed out.

Lincoln stopped pacing, his frown growing slightly. "Right..."

Lily pursed her lips, tapping her foot on the ground. Her eyes shifted about as her mind sorted through a list of people they could call up to help them fight off the other members of their family. In a few seconds, her eyes widened a bit as a smile formed. "I think I know of a few people who could help."

Both 11 year olds glanced at her. "You do?" Lincoln asked.

"We do." Lily replied, making Lincoln even more confused.

In real time, things at the Loud house hadn't changed much within the last hour. Ronnie Anne and Lynn kept practicing punches, with Lynn continuing to give pointers to the younger girl. Currently, both tomboys were sitting on the couch; Ronalda greedily chugged down her water bottle as sweat dripped down the sides of her face. Her arms felt like they were going to fall off at any second, to which Lynn stated that it was a good thing. They moved inside to take a break, largely because Lynn didn't want Ronalda to fall out from exhaustion. The two girls met with Leni in the kitchen, who offered to make a smoothie for them since the fashionista happened to be drinking one herself.

Upstairs, Luna was lazily strumming her guitar. She didn't have any songs in mind; it just helped ease the boredom she felt. Luan was busy having a conversation with Mr. Coconuts about what happened, with the dummy even slapping her a few times for being a dunce and berating her. This led to a somewhat comical (from Luna's perspective) argument between the two before the comedian ultimately put the dummy in a box; Mr. Coconuts begged to be let out and that he was sorry, stating he developed claustrophobia while in storage.

Lucy was in her and Lynn's room, still putting together arrangements for El Diablo's funeral. She had done pet funerals before, but she wanted this one to be special for Lana's sake. Since the body had already been disposed of, she sorted through the family photo album in hope of finding a lone picture of the snake. After all, if Lana loved him so much, surely she would've taken some pictures of him at some point. Sadly, she didn't find any in the family album, but she did find quite a few good pictures in a separate scrapbook Lana put together. The gothic child also made a note to ask around to see if she could get some of Lana's former pets to attend; tracking down their owners would still be a hassle in itself though, since the mud lover had over 20 pets alone.

As for the twins, it was easily the most dreary place in the house right now. Lana was lying on her bed, giving Lucy a challenge at being the mopiest girl in the house as she gave a lifeless stare at the ceiling. Her cap was on the floor, her overalls only had one strap hooked up, and her hair wasn't in its usual pigtail fashion, leaving it to hang right around her shoulders. The pink eyes and dried up snot was a clear indication that she had another crying fit. Lana had been in this state ever since the family returned home, and Lola did the best she could to help her twin. The former pageant queen even took the risk of bringing mud into the house, hoping it would spark something within her; Lana didn't even spare a glance. Unable to figure out what else she could do, the younger twin left the room, hoping that some alone time might help Lana. During that time, the mud lover let Hops and Izzy out of their cages prior so they could roam free, something El Diablo would never be able to do again.

Hops jumped onto the bed and nuzzled her cheek. Lana turned her heads towards him and brought the frog close as if he'd disappear within seconds. Izzy was who knows where, probably crawling around in the vents again to sort out small insects. The little amphibian could feel her pain; after all, over half of the other animals under Lana's care had been like brothers and sisters to him. It was already bad enough that Lana's tearful face was the last thing Hops saw before being sent to the animal shelter, and seeing each of his friends being given away made Hops wonder if he would be next. In a way, he was thankful that Lana came back for him; but now he was effectively the last friend Lana truly had. Not to discredit Izzy, but she tended to keep to herself most of the time.

A knock at the door grabbed their attention. Lisa poked her head in, glancing around before spotting her depressed sibling. Lana raised her head, giving the young prodigy her attention for two seconds before lying straight again. Taking that as a sign to come in, Lisa fully pushed open the door.

"Excuse my sudden entrance Lana, but I require your assistance with a curious endeavor."

"Like what?..." Lana managed to squeak out.

"I recall that during our revelation meeting about our therapeutic sessions, Lola was quite concerned about your gross habits and how they may affect your overall health. Normally, most of us have ignored this and passed it on as you being in some weird phase or whatnot. However, my curiosity has become perplexed by this when taking into account the number of hostile germs in a common human dumpster, and what disease carrying animals you've been around."

Lana furrowed her brows and propped herself up with her shoulders. "What do you want?! I'm not in the mood to hear another stupid lecture from you!"

Lisa flinched a little from Lana's outburst, but quickly regained her stoic stature. "I require a blood sample from you to find out how you aren't suffering from any potentially dangerous diseases."

Lana held her irate glare as she lied back down on the bed. "Naaah..."

Lisa took a quick glance around the room, spotting the few cages Lana kept on her side that were devoid of occupancy. While the tomboy preferred to let her animals roam free, she did keep the particularly dangerous ones locked up. She didn't have many, but it was quite impressive and intimidating that a little girl had something like a pit viper.

"A tad depressing knowing that this room was once filled with reptilians of various species that would normally be hostile towards each other now lay bare. Still, it's astonishing that Lana somehow managed to keep them in line (as well as avoid being poisoned...)" The 4 year old monologued to herself.

Lisa walked over to the 6 year old's bed and climbed up, sitting at her feet. "Lana, I may not fully understand the partnership you had with El Diablo, but I am terribly sorry about his passing." Lana's lips curled down, small tears forming at the corners of her eyes again. "But, I do know that none of us wish to see you entangled with your depressed state. So, that is why I want you to come with me to do this procedure; at least so you don't spend the next four hours locked in your room until our parents summon us for dinner."

"Lisa...I get what you're trying to do; but like I told Lola, I just want to be alone right now..."

"I'm certain we both know that's not going to do you any good."

Lana looked down enough to spot her sister in her peripheral vision. "Who are you supposed to be? Ms. Lopez?..."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "No, but I'm hoping you'll at least be distracted from your depression."

Lana folded her arms. "Well, I'm not gettin' out of this bed."

Lisa pursed her lips. Normally, she would've gave up and let this go. It wasn't like she couldn't just grab a sample from Lana while she slept (not that she hasn't done it before mind you). Although Lisa would be hesitant to admit it, she did have some sort of attachment towards the animals she used as test subjects when she didn't need her siblings' help. It broke the little genius' heart each time one of her experiments either mutated or killed her lab rats, but not to the extent of how she might feel if one of the family pets were lost. Lisa may have liked her lab mice, but she learned to not grow too attached; it made the pain easier to bear.

It would be quite easy for Lisa to just take Lana's sample through ulterior means, but she made a pact with herself to ask her siblings for permission first; even if it meant bugging them to no end. Lisa gave a little smile before putting up her neutral face again.

The brunette propped herself on Lana's feet, her hands resting on the older girl's socks. "Can you pweeeese help me with my study?" The little genius asked in a cute tone that matched her age.

Lana looked at Lisa again, getting a puppy eyed stare from her. The mud lover gave a disinterested stare right back before lying down again. "No."

"Pweese?"

"No."

"Pweese?"

"No..."

Seeing where this might be heading, Hops jumped off the bed and onto the nightstand.

"Pweese?"

"No..."

"Pweese?"

Lana squinted her eyes, giving a low growl. "NO..."

Lisa paused for a moment to resist the urge to giggle. "Pweese?"

"N.O. Lisa..."

"Pweeeeeeese?"

"Ugh! No!"

"Pweeeeeese?"

Lana's hands gripped her bedsheets hard. "Can't you say anything but please?!"

The 4 year old gave an innocent look. "Pweeeeeeeeese? With ice cweam and chocolate on top?"

Lana's lips thinned until gritted teeth were revealed, her eyes widened a bit as her pupils shrank. Within a second, the six year old grabbed her pillow, pressing it over her face before giving what Lisa could describe as the girliest scream she's ever heard from the tomboy. Lisa blinked in surprise and caution, relinquishing her hold on Lana's feet. On the plus side, it was quite a rare occurrence to hear Lana's raspy voice reach a high pitch. Given how much she nearly sounded like a guy, Lisa thought her vocal cords weren't capable of producing such a sound. On the negative, the tomboy could easily kick her in the chest given her close proximity to her feet.

Lana gave a muffled sigh before removing the pillow from her face. "Alright, fine..." She sat up fully. "Only if it will get you to stop bugging me..."

Lisa gave a smug grin. "Lisa, 1. Siblings, 0." She chortled a little to herself before hopping off the bed, her handywoman of a sister begrudgingly following.

Upon reaching the scientist's room, Lana saw that Lisa had a few things set up on her desk. Two petri dishes sat next to each other; one of which appeared to have something in it already. Next to them was a microscope to one side, along with a small syringe and a notebook with some textbooks on the other. A container of cotton swabs and a bottle of alcohol sat near the edge of the table. Lily was absent, as she was downstairs in the living room.

Lana raised a brow. "I thought you didn't bring anything back with us."

"I didn't. I had a colleague drop off a few things for me while we were out." Lisa grabbed the needle. "Correct me if I'm wrong. You don't have Trypanophobia," The four year old wheeled around to her sister. "Right?"

Lana gave a dull stare. "What the heck is that?"

"A fear of needles."

"Pfff. No, that's Lola's deal."

"Ok, so I won't have to inject you with an agent to calm you. Please hold out your arm."

Lana did as instructed before Lisa took out a cotton ball and dabbed it in the alcohol. She felt around for Lana's artery before wiping the area, pushing the needle into the handywoman's arm seconds later. Lana winced slightly as she felt the needle push into her artery, watching as blood left her arm and into a vile connected to the syringe. Once it was full, Lisa removed the needle and taped a small strip of medical tape to the injection area. Stepping onto her chair, Lisa took out the vial, pouring half of it into the clear dish before grabbing her microscope. Lana tapped her foot impatiently as the 4 year old jotted down notes of whatever it was she was seeing before moving onto the second dish. Lisa poured Lana's blood into it and watched the reaction through her microscope.

The brunette widened her eyes a bit at what she was seeing. "Hmm...very interesting..." Lisa muttered before writing something down.

"Well?..." Lana huffed.

"Come here for a second dear sibling." Lisa motioned her over. Lana dragged her feet along the carpet before Lisa let her peer into the microscope. "Tell me, what do you see?"

Lana closed an eye to focus better. Through the lens, she could see some red and white blood cells, as well as some platelets. The virus fighting cells looked to be a bit restless, constantly moving in random directions. The tomboy didn't pay much attention to this though. "Um, the stuff in my blood?"

"Yes. Now, notice that the white blood cells in that dish appear to be quite active when they shouldn't be. Now, look into the second dish." Lisa instructed.

Lana turned the scope a bit to look at the second dish. She saw the same cells, along with some weird looking foreign object being viciously attacked by the white blood cells. "What is that?"

"That is the bacteria I gathered from a dumpster at the college. I noticed how quickly your white blood cells responded to the virus and immediately sought to eradicate it. Now, the hyperactivity of your white blood cells normally indicates that one may have autoimmune deficiency, which is what I believe you possess."

Lana watched as her white blood cells eviscerated the bacteria in a few seconds before directing her attention to Lisa. "Auto, what?"

"Autoimmune deficiency. It means your white blood cells would actively attack your body, making you more susceptible to disease. However, it appears you have the opposite of this disability." Lisa took the microscope from Lana to confirm if the bacteria ceased to exist. "Your immune system is overclocked to the point your body is always active and ready to kill off any typical virus that comes into your body. I'm not sure as to how this happened, but it does explain why you haven't gotten sick from your constant dumpster diving escapades."

"Wait, what about the time everyone got sick with the flu?" Lana asked, scratching her hair.

"Yes, that is a bit of a headscratcher," Lisa moved the microscope to the side and scribbled down more notes. "But prior to that, you haven't gotten sick from being in the trash or any other unsanitary place, correct?"

Lana shrugged. "Not that I know of."

"Perhaps your body has long since adjusted to being able to fend off the bacteria inside of dumpsters and other potentially dangerous illness that might be transmitted from animals, or even bad food given how you can stand Aunt Ruth's expired pudding." Lisa scratched her head with the butt of the pen. "But, you're still susceptible to typical illnesses like pneumonia and food poisoning. It also appears you don't have an abnormally high amount of white blood cells in your system, hence the reason you got sick like the rest of us. I may need more samples from you for further investigation." Lisa stated as she wrote down a few more things.

With Lisa temporarily busy, Lana happened a glance at the desk, her eyes scanning over the books that lied on it. The handywoman's interest grew when she spotted a thick psychology textbook that sat on top of the others. Lana picked up the book, seeing a bookmark sticking out of the top. She opened it to where it was inserted, and came across a couple pages that centered around the concept of fear itself. At least, that's what she got from the titles. Below the bolded letters, the rest of the pages were literal walls of words; Lana could already feel the boredom creeping up on her the longer she stared at it. She closed the book before her curiosity waned entirely.

"Hey Lis. What's with this book?" Lana waved the item in her hand.

Lisa glanced up at her sister. "Oh. That..." Lisa sat the notebook down. "I had purchased it from the campus library to get a better understanding of why Lincoln fears us."

Lana gave an unimpressed look. "Uh..." She snorted a little, stuffing a finger in her nose to dig something out. "It's because we beat him up pretty bad, remember?" The six year old squinted as she pulled out a booger. The tomboy looked at it for a few seconds before flicking it into the trash. "For a stupid reason no less..."

"Obviously..." Lisa grabbed the book from Lana, opening it to where she left off. "But after having my own session with Ms. Lopez, it got me thinking about what exactly causes fear. It has been on my mind for the past week or so, and it was only recently that I acquired that book. After delving into the text to satisfy my curiosity, I came up with two questions: what does Lincoln fear about us, and why." The 4 year old explained as she read through a few paragraphs.

"And again, it's because he thinks we're going to total him worse than Vanzilla." Lana folded her arms. "You heard what he said when we visited him at the hospital."

"That is correct, but why?" Lisa slammed the book closed. "That is the question that was never answered."

Lana rapped her fingers on her fore arm. She glanced out the window. "Given how all of us act, it's probably because we're too hotheaded for our own good..."

"Likely, but I believe it's something else." Lisa stated, making Lana raise a brow in confusion. "After reading this book, I've come to the conclusion that fear is only a thought process that exists purely in our minds. It is born simply by us perceiving something as a threat to our overall health, and therefore cannot exist unless we make it so. And often, fear is closely associated to something that is dangerous."

Lana pursed her lips, trying to deduce what Lisa was saying. "Huh?"

Lisa closed her eyes as she fought down a groan. "What I'm saying is, the reason Lincoln is afraid of us is due to him thinking we're a major threat to his life. It's just like Leni with her arachnophobia. Not all spiders are dangerous to humans; some are, but the common house spider is not. It's just the known fact that all spiders carry venom that makes some people afraid when one is around, especially the larger ones such as a tarantula. And from this known fact, fear takes form and guides certain people to avoid spiders." The 4 year old placed the book on the table. "Make no mistake Lana: danger is always ever present, but fear is just a notion that purely exists in our thoughts and drives us to avoid certain objects, or people."

Lana started to nod as she understood that bit of knowledge. "Ooooh, I get it. It's the same thing with snakes. They carry venom too, well...not all of them, but those guys could literally kill a person if they wanted to. But, snakes prefer to be left alone most of them, and constrictors don't carry venom. They'll just squeeze you until you're ready to eat." The blonde's lips curled down as she thought of her beloved pet. She gave a downcast look at the carpet. "El Diablo was one..." She looked back at Lisa. "But what does this have to do with Lincoln?"

Lisa pushed her glasses up a little as she felt them slipping down her nose. "With this knowledge, I have a theory that may get our brother to finally realize we don't mean to cause him any harm. If we can show Lincoln that we are not a threat to his very existence, he may lose his fear of us at an exponential rate. The main reason Lincoln doesn't fear Lily, as I figured, is because she is much too young to bring any real harm to him."

Lana rubbed her chin. "...Are you absolutely sure this is gonna work Lis? I mean, Lincoln can't even be in the same building as us without freaking out. How are we supposed to get him to believe we're no threat if all he'll do is run?"

Lisa nodded. "It should, and given that Lincoln first made contact with Lori just 16 hours ago, it appears his fear towards us is beginning to taper off. With this in mind, we must act while we have the opportunity." She sat down on the stool. "As we can see, Lincoln not seeing us has done little to alleviate his fears, and it may have amplified them. Only through constant exposure could he actually dispel his phobia." The sound of a running engine brought their attention to the window. Getting up, Lisa and Lana peered out, spotting Vanzilla pulling into the driveway. "But first, I'll need to run this theory by our parents..." Lisa finished, pulling away from the window.

"Should we tell the others too?" The mud lover asked.

"Parents first, sisters later."

The sudden opening of the bedroom door and loud thud made the girls twists their heads around. Lola had picked herself up, apparently having not realized the door wasn't fully closed. While the two girls may have been peeved that Lola was snooping again, they were more distracted by what she was wearing.

"Why, are you wearing my overalls?" Lana asked, no hint of malice in her tone.

"I...thought they looked nice?" Came Lola's meek reply.

In Lincoln's Dream...

"Really? You really want to ask the help of this guy?" Ronnie Anne groaned, leaning on a wooden fence.

Lily cast a glare at the Hispanic girl. "Hey, I saw him wrangle in a bull numerous times and wrestle a pig. Unless you got any better ideas."

Ronnie opened her mouth to voice her rebuttal, but closed it as the words died in her throat.

"I know you said we knew someone Lily, but I wasn't expecting that someone to be Liam." Lincoln added.

The trio were watching the farm boy tending to his chickens, spreading some feed on the ground for them to eat. When one of the roosters started getting a bit too close for comfort, the redhead shot it a glare.

"Hey! Wait yer turn Chuck! Ladies need to eat first."

The rooster in question bawked at him, but one swift flick on the beak got him to back down.

Ronnie Anne held a deadpanned look. "Yeah, I'm still not impressed." She turned to Lincoln. "Wanna look somewhere else?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess. I'd kinda hate to bring Liam into this to be honest." He turned to Lily. "Sorry Lily, but we're gonna-" Lincoln stopped after noticing Lily was no longer next to him. Raising a brow, he twisted his head to and fro to find his wayward sister.

Liam hummed as he finally gave Chuck his breakfast. "There. Hope yer happy."

"Hey Liam, can we talk for a sec?" A feminine voice called out.

"Sure thing," Liam turned around to find Lily walking over. "Lily? What do I owe the pleasure of seein' ya in these parts?"

"Soooo..." Lily started in a sweet voice, holding her hands behind her back. "Me and Lincoln need some help fighting our ex-sisters, and we were hoping you'd join."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Uh...what?"

Lincoln ran over, casting a disapproving look at the blonde. "Lily, you could at least tell me when you're gonna go walk off..."

"Howdy Lincoln."

"Hey..."

"So...what's this I hear about you havin' family issues?" Liam asked as he leaned on the giant bag of chicken feed.

"It's...complicated..." Lincoln rubbed his arm.

"About as complicated as getting the snot beaten out of him by 9 girls all at once." Ronalda addressed as she strolled up. "And for some reason, Lily thinks you'd be of help."

Liam blinked a few times. "Well...how about we discuss this over breakfast?" The redhead turned and, with a bit of struggling, lifted the large bag. "Y'all hungry?"

"Me and Lily hadn't eaten anything today, so yeah." Lincoln replied.

"I skipped this morning." Ronnie Anne added.

"Then say no more! I'll whip up a nice bacon feast for us."

The 4 kids went into Liam's house after he put his feed back in the barn. As it turns out, Liam was a pretty decent cook, and a fast one at that. The heroes didn't know where he got all that bacon from, but it was widely assumed it was from one of his pigs (poor thing). As they ate, Lincoln and Lily explained the whole situation to the farm boy. Liam had to stop eating once due to the shock of how it all went down, as well as the fact the Louds revealed their hero identities. Ronalda became irate once again after hearing a more vivid explanation of the betrayal, and it didn't take long for Liam to figure out what her identity was. The news reports of murderers being shot in the head were unanimously tied to the Ace-sassin.

"Well..." Liam paused. "That was a mouthful to take in...sorry y'all had to suffer through that..."

"Don't worry, we're getting past it." Lily stated, stabbing another piece of bacon.

"Yeah...kinda..." Lincoln answered in a tone that reeked of depression. He had been picking at his food since he got halfway through the story.

"And if you guys need help, I definitely got yer back." The redhead boasted with a smile.

Lincoln raised a brow. "You sure Liam? I mean...I'm not too comfortable bringing a civilian-"

Liam spat out his orange juice. "Civilian?! Shoot naw! I'm far from bein' just a boy who lives on a farm." He got up from his seat, motioning the others to follow. "Come on. I gotta show y'all somethin'."

The others glanced at one another before getting out of their seats. They followed Liam up to his room, where the redhead dove under the bed to search for something. "When was the last time you guys stopped a small time crime like a robbery or a purse snatcher?"

Ronnie Anne scratched her head. "I can't remember. Maybe a month ago?"

"I've been busy going after major villains to focus on small crimes. Last time I stopped a robbery was 3 months ago, and I guess the police started handling them better since." Lincoln stated.

"Well, that's where yer wrong Ace." Liam scooted out from under the bed, bringing out a box with him. "Can y'all keep a secret?"

They nodded.

"Well, given how y'all been busy dealin' with them major crooks, I decided to get into the game myself." Liam smirked, opening the box. Inside of it was a cowboy hat with a set of cards etched into the cotton, along with a black vest, boots, a bandana, and an unusual looking lasso that was about the size of a car tire when coiled up. It couldn't have been no more than 30 feet long.

"Hey, I remember seeing that rope in the news before!" Lily answered, to which the others focused on her. "Police kept finding robbers tied up in that same silver colored rope, and it took them forever to untie the bad guys because they claimed it was hard to cut, like it was made of metal."

"That's cuz it partially is." Liam took the rope out of the box and started twirling it around. "Been using this ol' thing since I decided to start fighting crime. During the day, most just know me as Liam. But at night," Liam partially loosed the rope and lassoed a soda can off his nightstand without sparing a glance. "Crooks know me as, The Wrangler." The redhead pulled the pin and took a sip.

"The Wrangler? That's not a card name." Lily pouted, sticking out her tongue.

Liam shrugged. "It's not, but I watch a lot of western movies. I don't understand the whole card name shenanigans."

"Then what's with the card pattern on your hat?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Thought it looked nice. Plus, my granddad won it in a poker game."

Lincoln took the hat out the box, inspecting every inch of it. "When did you start fighting crime Liam?"

"Three months back. Some fellers were tryin' to steal mah chickens fer profit. They also tied up mah folks so they couldn't call the cops. I was the only one who could do anything, so I grabbed a rope and went to work. It wasn't easy either..." The redhead frowned. "They were also carryin' shotguns. I managed to tie them all up, but I barely avoided gettin hit directly." Liam lifted his shirt, to which the other kids gasped. There were a few deep scratches that had faded with time, but what caught their attention the most was the obvious gash mark with small holes pilfering it; a side effect of not fully dodging a shotgun blast. "Spent a good few days in the hospital because of this thing. Occasionally, this side still flairs, but it ain't nothin'." He put his shirt down before sitting on the bed.

"Liam..." Lincoln started, getting over the initial shock. "If you needed help, why didn't you try to reach me? I would've been over there as soon as I could."

"Phone line got cut, and I didn't have time to reach mah phone since they'd..." Liam paused, his eyes becoming a little glassy. He shook his head to rid himself of whatever dark thoughts were in place. "Let's just say mah parents wouldn't be around if it weren't for me. So, seein' that I saved mah family and mah home...I felt like I could actually do something, you know? I kept hearin' about all them criminal activity going on in the city, and I figured the Full House could use some extra help." The redhead sat the box on his bed before sitting on the mattress himself.

Lincoln nodded. "There may be 11 of us, but even we can get swamped. I still remember that one time most of us lost sleep due to a sudden jail break..."

Ronalda couldn't help but grin. "Don't know about you guys, but that was a fun night for me." The Latina chuckled darkly, making everyone else uncomfortable.

"Riiiight." Liam scooted a few feet away from Ronnie Anne. "So, I figured I wound up establishing some sort of pecking order. The Full House handles the big time villains, Ace-sassin goes after the killers, and I'm stoppin' bank robberies and doin' small time favors."

Lily winced slightly. "Doesn't that get boring after a while?"

Liam sighed. "It does..."

Lincoln tapped his foot slightly as he took into account Liam's skills and match those with his other siblings. "Are you really good with that lasso Liam?"

"Sho' nuff. I could catch a road runner with it."

"Good, cause we'll need something to immortalize some of the Full House if we want to have a chance." Lincoln tapped his chin. "But we're still outnumbered..."

Liam smirked as he swung his feet. "If you want backup, I know two guys who could lend a hand. All of us, well aside from little Lily-"

"Hey!"

"Know them, cause they're in our gym class."

Lincoln and Ronalda furrowed their brows as they started picking out everyone they knew who they had gym with. It was somewhat difficult since there were over 20 kids in their class.

Liam gave a small chortle as he watched the two attempting to silently guess who he was referring to. "Here's a hint: they're both redheads like me."

Ronnie Anne went wide-eyed, her face contorting in disgust seconds later. "Oh, you can't possibly mean-"

Liam raised his hands in defense. "Hey, Zach is really into bombs these days. So much that I'm worried he'll blow up his house one day...and Rusty has gotten really good at trickin' people."

"Bombs you say?" Lily asked, a mischievous grin forming on her face.

A drop of sweat formed on the back of Lincoln's head. Whenever he saw Lily give that look, he knew immediately she was gonna do something crazy. Panning over to Ronnie Anne, he could see her frustrations clear as day; guess she got her hopes up too high if she expected some other kind of heroes than the so-called 'weirdoes' she interacts with at school.

As the others continued to talk with each other, Lincoln was taking note of comparisons of this new team and his old. There was Lincoln himself, Lily, Ronnie Anne, Clyde, Liam, Zach, and Rusty. That was 7 against 9. And when you add up their abilities, at least two of them could handle explosives, Ronnie Anne was a sharpshooter, Liam could immobilize some of the key targets like Lisa, Rusty's perceived tricks could cause confusion to prevent the girls from organizing, and Lincoln and Clyde had close combat experience.

Lincoln smiled a little; seeing that they might stand a chance if things go their way. However, when he started to think about his other siblings, that same smile doubled back into a frown. Just about all of his sisters had close combat training on top of certain abilities they possessed. Luna's amps could potentially nullify Lily and Zach if she struck the right chord, Lynn was bullet resistant and so was Lola thanks to her crystals. However, Ronnie Anne specifically said she had something for them. Leni could potentially match Liam with that sash of hers, and Lucy and Lana were wild cards of their own; namely one appearing out of nowhere and the other being too wild to control, especially when she's near a water source. As for Lori and Lisa, they were the most 'normal' of the group, though Lori was just as good as Lincoln in a fight and Lisa would make sure you couldn't touch her.

Lincoln put a hand to his head, squeezing his eyes shut as a low groan escaped him. Just thinking about this impending clash was too much of a headache to think on one sitting. He let out a small yawn. "Guess that bacon really does a number on you..." He muttered.

Seeing the others were still talking, the boy figured they wouldn't mind if he lied down for a minute. Walking over to the other side of Liam's bed, he flopped on the mattress. Lincoln stared at the ceiling as his vision became blurred to the point he could barely make out the ceiling fan. Within seconds, nothing but darkness enveloped his vision.

Lincoln shifted a little on the soft mattress as his eyes slowly opened up. Well, what he thought was a mattress. Once his brain was half awake, the Loud boy realized he was lying on a couch. Given by the color, texture, and feel, Lincoln knew he wasn't at his house. Rolling onto his back, Lincoln checked his surroundings through his half-tired gaze.

"Guess mom dropped me back at the McBrides...ugh...why does my mouth feel sore?..." The Loud groaned to himself.

On instinct, his tongue moved around until it felt two soft objects pressed against the inside of his cheeks. Raising an eyebrow, Lincoln drowsily shifted until his back was on the couch. He reached into his mouth and pulled out the foreign object; the Loud's eyes widened as he realized it was a blood-soaked sponge.

Lincoln sat up in an instant, frantically tapping parts of his mouth. His tongue felt open space in the back where he swore some teeth should've been. His breathing quickened, thinking someone must've knocked out more of his teeth. As he let out a small whimper, Lincoln visibly cringed as the back of his mouth throbbed in pain.

Clyde came around the corner, his face glued to the Ace Savvy comic in his hands. He glanced at Lincoln, whom he expected to still be asleep. The nerdy child did a double take once he realized the white-headed boy was wide awake.

"Hey Lincoln. Thought you'd still be asleep." Clyde set the issue on the table. "That must've been some heavy sleeping gas."

"Sleeping gas?..." Lincoln said in a muffled tone.

"Yeah. You had your molars removed, remember?"

Lincoln wracked his brain for what happened moments before he went to sleep. "I was at mom's office, they checked my teeth, and..." He paused once the memory came to him. "Oh..." Lincoln's cheeks heated up a little. "Right..."

"Mouth feeling sore?" Lincoln gave a nod, to which Clyde handed him the pain killer bottle before going to get some water.

Lincoln popped one of the pills into his mouth before Clyde tossed him a bottle. He reached out for it, only to miss as the bottle grazed his fingertips. "I can't catch..."

"Nah. I shouldn't have thrown it so far away." Clyde chuckled nervously. Lincoln picked up the bottle, taking a few sips to force the pill down his throat. "Mrs. Loud also said you need to take those every 3 hours-no wait, 6!" The African American then took note of the gauze sponge on the couch. "Annnnnd you may want to put another sponge in your mouth."

Lincoln poked his tongue around and felt another sponge on his left cheek. He took it out, cringing in disgust a bit after seeing it was also soaked with blood and spit. Clyde tossed him the bag, to which Lincoln actually caught and took two sponges out. "Hey Clyde..." The Loud pushed one into his mouth. "Have you ever had the same type of dream happen, as if there's more to it each time you fall asleep?"

"Mmmm..." Clyde shrugged. "Not that I know of. Why? Did you have another nightmare?" He asked, raising his voice in near panic. Clyde calmed back down when he noted that one key reaction was missing. "Wait...you didn't wake up screaming though."

Lincoln shook his head. "It's not exactly a nightmare, more like one big adventure that's becoming a headache. When I have those dreams, it takes me a moment to remember what happened, as if I'm living a second life or something."

"Hmmm...this sounds like you need more therapy talk!" Clyde stated brightly before moving towards the hallway. "Right this way to my office good sir!" He stopped mid-stride when another reminder smacked him in the head. "Oh, before we talk, there's some lunch for you in the fridge."

The mere mention of food made Lincoln's stomach growl. "Guess that was good timing." The Loud boy chuckled.

After peeking into the fridge, Lincoln unwrapped a plate with his name on a sticky note to find a crab cake sandwich with a small salad on the side. He took a moment to heat it up first before heading to Clyde's room, figuring he could just eat while they talked. Clyde sat in his own desk chair while Lincoln sat on the trundle bed, still eating bits of his lunch. The Loud boy made sure to take his gauze sponges out first before eating, lest he accidentally swallow one. Sure enough, the boys spent the first few minutes talking about how good Howard's cooking was before getting into the real details. Clyde was rather surprised to hear how complex Lincoln's dreams were getting, and moreover, the kind of imagination Lincoln had when he was allowed to sleep for a few hours at a time.

It was one thing to imagine Lincoln and himself being Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack, but his sisters and friends possessing alter egos as well? And the fact they each had a certain set of skills to go with it? It was almost too much for Clyde to take in; it made him wish he had dreams like that.

"So, just to make sure I understand it all: you and Lily, as Ace and Deuce, went to a warehouse because the rest of your sisters were having trouble with Card Shark. But, it was actually a trap set for you by the same sisters you're afraid of. But, you managed to hold them off before they reorganized and overwhelmed you, then Lily comes in and saved you?"

Lincoln nodded.

"Next, you pass out shortly after you both manage to get away, then I arrive and take you both to our secret hideout somewhere in the woods. Then, I managed to get back into the Fortress of Solitaire and steal something from Lisa to heal you. Once you're on your feet, you call Ronnie Anne for help, and she's an assassin who uses guns?"

Lincoln nodded again.

"Then, after meeting with her, you, Lily, and Ronnie Anne head to Liam's, who was secretly a...cowboy?"

"Yeah." The Loud shrugged. "I just pictured him as being one given how he wrangled bulls before. And Zach was a bomb guy like Lily, and I'm not too certain what Rusty was before I woke up, but I think he's sort of like a magician." Lincoln rubbed his temple. It ached slightly as he continued to think about what happened in his dream.

"And the whole reasoning for this is to lead up to a confrontation with your sisters?" The African American asked.

"...I'm not so sure..." Lincoln meekly answered. He supposed it did, but actually fighting his sisters again was a bridge he'd yet reached.

"If I had to guess, it's because you're still trying to avoid them while at the same time, attempting to reach out to them. You did text Lori yesterday despite having a day-mare after all." Clyde folded his legs. "So...do you think that might be a sign that you actually want to see your sisters again?"

"..." The pregnant pause between them gave an answer of its own. Seeing that Lincoln still had a level of uncertainty with meeting his other siblings, Clyde decided to not press the issue.

"Now then, about your Ace Savvy dream..." Clyde started, taking a deep breath through his nose. "All of that sounds totally wicked! I mean, I know Ace and Jack our are superheroes, but thinking up one for your sisters and our friends? And giving them cool backstories? Dude, you should make a comic out of that one day!"

Lincoln raised a brow. "You think I should?"

"Well, yeah. If you have an imagination like that, just think about what you could do if you had those same thoughts while in front of a blank paper. Our art teacher always tells us to 'channel our mojo' as he calls it."

Lincoln cast a sullen look at the floor. "I...I don't know Clyde. I haven't been good at anything..." His frown deepened. "The only thing I had been good at was being there for my sisters, and I failed that too..."

Clyde gave a frown of his own. "Have you tried drawing before?"

Lincoln shook his head. "No...but I did everything else during the time I tried to get a trophy into the trophy case at my house..." The boy started counting off his fingers. "I tried a marathon: dead last. Tried a karate tournament: broke my hand trying to split a stack of wood. Went into a talent show and tried my luck with music: booed off the stage." He sat his hand in his lap. "I even managed to get into a Little Ms. Cutie pageant and lost that. And if you remember what happened during the video contest, I had to give up that because my sisters hated me for embarrassing them..."

Clyde chuckled slightly, to which Lincoln glowered at him. "It's not funny..." The boy muttered.

"It's not that Lincoln. It's just, outside of the video contest, you tried things your sisters were good at. I'm thinking that you may have tried to follow in their footsteps to see if you could gain something from their talents instead of yours."

"..."

"Was this something you talked about with Dr. Lopez?"

"Sort of. I told her the same thing I told you, but we didn't go much into it."

"Well, take it from me buddy." Clyde leaned back in his chair. "You can do more than what you think you're only capable of, if that makes sense. I believe you can do more than just being a good brother, not that there's anything wrong with that. But I really think you should try drawing, because if your imagination is that big and complex, I think that's a sign of someone whose going to be an artist one day."

Lincoln shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, chewing slowly as he processed Clyde's advice. Could he be an artist? He never explored that opportunity; but given how he tends to create plans for dealing with the every day hijinks of his siblings, it could be applied to storytelling. Not only that, the few times Lincoln did draw up something (usually involving a plan of his), the picture didn't look half bad. Granted, it was still amateurish, but he's not a professional.

"Well," Lincoln swallowed his food. "If you think I should, then I'll give it a try."

"That's the spirit!" Clyde cheered. "Oh, and make sure you clean your mouth properly after you eat. You might've gotten some food where your molars used to be. And speaking of which, did I have any powers as One-Eyed Jack? Like super detective skills or stealth? I'm thinking it had to be stealth if I could get back into the fortress without being noticed."

Lincoln gave a small snort. "Of course he'd ask." The boy chuckled internally, being very thankful he had someone like Clyde for a friend. Not to dock any points from the rest of his social circle, but Lincoln doubted they could be this insightful.

"Are you absolutely sure about this Lisa? I mean, what if it just makes everything worse?" Lynn Sr. asked his little genius of a daughter. She approached both parents while they were unpacking the groceries, and unsurprisingly, they were a bit at odds with this plan. Lisa had to wait until they were finished before they could discuss it in the living room.

"I assure you father, that this theory of mine has a 55% chance of being successful. And to start off, I propose that someone who has already been in direct contact with Lincoln initiate this new strategy." Lisa stated.

"And who do you think should be the one to talk with Lincoln?" Rita asked. "You know he's not going to trust anything you girls say, even if it's the truth."

"I anticipate that, which is why I've deduced this problem down to two siblings who have had direct line of sight with Lincoln by themselves." Lisa took out a pie chart that was divided among 9 of the sisters. Lily was not included since Lincoln still trusted her. Most of the girl's sections were small, including Lisa's, but Lynn and Luan's were significantly bigger. "Taking into account personality, physical stature, and contact length with Lincoln, the best candidates would be Lynn and Luan." The 4 year old took out a pointer and tapped Lynn's section. "Lynn has had contact with Lincoln prior to finding out his fear was becoming an issue, and while said meeting did not end well in any means, it's possible Lincoln may have taken her words into consideration. She is also roughly the same height as Lincoln, making it a little more comfortable to talk with someone who doesn't tower over him. However, one key issue that may be a problem is Lynn's well-known physical prowess; and considering that Lincoln's injured arm was her doing, Lincoln could be quite apprehensive at being near her."

Lisa then pointed at Luan's chart. "Then there's Luan. She's had contact with Lincoln under happenstance due to a sudden school assembly, and after which she had saved him from being trampled on by the student body. From her retelling of the event, Lincoln was scared stiff, but he did not run away; he was taken by his social circle before anything could happen." The prodigy put the pointer to her side. "Because of this action, Lincoln may be willing to speak with Luan as a thanks. However, Luan's history of pulling unexpected pranks leaves her in the realm of unpredictability, which would make Lincoln cautious." She compressed the pointer until it was only an inch long. "Added to the fact Luan is also 6 inches taller than Lincoln, he may find this intimidating."

Lisa paused, hoping her parents would provide some input. However, they didn't speak a word, so she continued. "As for myself and my other siblings, we have had little to no contact with our brother outside of that one hospital visit, so we are not viable candidates."

Lynn Sr. and Rita glanced at one another. It sounded like a good strategy, but there was still some hesitation about rushing into things. If the girls made one wrong move, it could possibly drive Lincoln further away from them.

"Well sweetie, it's a nice plan and all, but..." Rita paused, trying to get her thoughts together. Lisa was already beginning to look disappointed, as she feared her parents might regret her idea.

"What your mother is trying to say is, we're just nervous about having you girls be within Lincoln's sight again. He just texted Lori last night, and now you want to see him in person? There's just a lot of things that could go wrong."

Lisa gave a sad sigh. "I guess this was a waste of time then..."

"Now hang on, we're not finished." The patriarch quickly added.

"However, we are gonna bite the bullet and trust you girls to decide, on your own, about what to do and who will be meeting with Lincoln. And when I say trust, I mean that in a loose term. We'll be checking to make sure you girls don't try anything crazy." Rita replied.

"Well, that technically counts as an approval." Lisa noted to herself. "Understood. I will inform my sisters immediately."

Fortunately for Lisa, their talk had drew the attention of the rest of the girls, including Ronalda, who was still a bit too exhausted to try walking home. Although they should be happy at having another opportunity to win Lincoln's trust again, this was masked by the nervousness each girl felt; Lynn and Luan in particular were sweating bullets. They were well aware of the stakes placed on them: if they succeed, it could accelerate Lincoln's hopeful return to their house. If they fail, it could make him want to stay as far away from the house as possible.

And they sure as hell didn't want to screw up one of the few chances they had...

A/N: This is the second longest chapter for a Loud House story I've made. I probably would've stopped writing some time ago and published this, but I just had a lot I wanted to put out. So, with a new plan in the works, it's only a matter of time to see if Lisa's theory will actually take shape and work. Aside from that, there is also the option of slow communication build up; this would work where it starts from texts, then phone calls, and eventual face-to-face. But, knowing the girls, they will try any viable plan to get into their brother's good graces again.

Also, me and Darthsidious often have talks about why Lana doesn't get sick from her constant dumper diving. Even a sane person would normally wear some protective gear since there are so many germs that you could get infected with. Even FDS at one point wanted Lana to wound up having some parasite and require surgery because of her garbage eating habits. But, I hopefully found a good explanation as to why she doesn't get sick after looking into autoimmune deficiencies.

As Dr. Ian Malcolm said, Life Finds A Way.